Nanjing (?? Nánj?ng), historically also Nanking, is the central city of downstream Yangtze Basin and is a renowned historical and cultural city.
It is situated in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Nanjing means "southern capital", Beijing "northern capital". Nanjing was the capital of several dynasties. It was the capital of the Republic of China from their 1911 revolution until the defeat by the communists in 1949.

Get in

By plane

There are currently no direct flights from Nanjing airport to Shanghai, but to Bejing, HK, and major cities abroad you will find plenty of airlines. The airport is best reached either by taxi or airport buses.

By train

There are numerous daily departures to Shanghai, about three to four hours away.
Keep in mind that soft seat (1th class) is not that much more expensive than hard seat (2nd class) and offers you much better equipment, comparable with a business class flight. The prices are fairly cheap, you pay around 100 RMB for soft seat or 70 RMB for hard seat.

By car

There is a modern high-way system between Shanghai and Nanjing, which will allow you to travel quite quickly from city to city. Keep in mind of traffic in morning and evening. If you're just one person, it's much cheaper to travel by train, if you're larger group, car get's cheaper. But keep in mind that you need to be a very experienced driver to participate in chinese traffic, better use trains/buses between the cities and Taxis in the cities, unless you're really on for a challenge.

By bus

There are a lot of bus lines from Shanghai, Bejing, Hangzhou and other cities to Nanjing, it's around the same speed as trains usually, and the quality they offer is somewhere between hard and soft seat train class. Usually, it's better to travel by train, but if there is no place in train left, feel free to use the bus lines. Book directly at the stations, or use the hotel service (available in 3*** or more hotels usually)

By boat

It's not really possible to travel by boat to there, even if Nanjing is situated at the Yellow river.
The river is mostly used for transport of goods, not for persons. Better use railway.

Get around

See

There is a large park East of the lake, Northeast of city center, which contains Ming Dynasty tombs, the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat Sen (leader of the 1911 revolution) and other stuff very impressive. You could spend a day or more just exploring this.

There is also a cable going up the hill, and if you have the right shoes, feel free to walk down from the hill. Prices are fairly acceptable, for one-ride 25 RMB, for up-and-down 45 RMB.

Nanjing Museum, based right at the main street of Nanjing, offers you a lot of different culture scenerials, including the sailing of Zhen He and real-silk-mading. It's a great idea to spend either a hot or rainy day.

There is a monument to the 1937 Nanjing massacre by Japanese troops of many thousands of Chinese(around 300.000), including a partly excavated mass grave where visitors can see the skeletons. Don't go there if you're sensitive, because it can really scare you. There is no entrance fee.

One of the bridges over the Yangtze is a classic of socialist art. Workers and farmers have tools; military have weapons. They all have books, presumably of Mao's Thought. The bridge was built after the clinch between Sowjetunion and China in the early 60's, even thought the Sowjet Advisors told Mao that it won't be possible to build a bridge they succedded. Very interesting monument, and on the other side there are completely new towns in the made (Finished around spring 2006) including direct subway-connection.

Do

Learn

Work

Buy

Eat

YanShuiYa

Budget

Either McDonalds (Menus around 18 RMB, but you can also get Double Cheeseburger for 5 RMB) or BreadTalk, which is quite good at offering you a lot of variety of great bread-based snacks for few money (usually 3 pieces are enough to feel full, each around 4-7 RMB)

Mid-range

Splurge

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

-Sheraton Nanjing Kingley Towers, right in the middle of the town, offering you all the service you're used to have in a 5***** hotel, if you've a good guide you should get the rooms for around 400-500 RMB per night, including breakfast.
-Hilton: Went bancrupt a year before, now reopened, still in the city but a little bit more far away from the center. Good if you want to make business in the east of the town.

Contact

Stay safe

Nanjing is not as dangerous as Shanghai and not as safe as Hangzhou, means you better take care of your belongings, since there are quite a lot of pick-pockets, but no dangerous criminality for your life. Try to not show too much your money around, and try to not play "rich foreigner" and you can enjoy your holiday there.